Let's Make a Deal (Bob and Nikki Book 11), стр. 60
“Have you been able to look at Scotti’s software, to see how hard it is going to be to get that out?”
“I haven’t tried, I don’t think she’s likely to be cooperative.”
“What are you going to have to do? Get Tikki to immobilize her?”
“The only way that is going to happen is if you, as her owner, give her a direct command to allow it.”
“I don’t like having to mess with her autonomy that way, but if it’s the only way to get that mess out of her, I’ll do it. Meet me in Engineering.”
“See you there.” I caught a transit, and got to Engineering just before Nikki and her crew. I saw Scotti, and went over to her. “Scotti, may I have a word?”
“Sure Boss, but I need to get on this. Somebody just pushed an unauthorized update to every bot in the fleet. It looks like malicious code to me.”
I said, reluctantly, “Scotti, command override. Stand down. Assume the position of attention. Do not move.”
Tikki saw what was happening and came over. “What’s up, Boss?”
“Scotti was trying to tear out Mrs. Wilson’s fix. Could you stay around till Nikki and her team get here, so we can fix Scotti’s issue?”
“Sure, Boss.”
Scotti asked, “What are you doing, Boss?”
I replied, “Your programming has been infiltrated by the Squirrels. We’re going to get it out.”
“Boss, I am functional. You are mistaken.”
“The patch you were attempting to remove was a fix for a vulnerability to Squirrel control built into all the newer bots. A vulnerability you were unable to see, because your programming is corrupted. I know you think you are correct, and I dislike having to control you like this, but I assure you it is for your own good, whether you believe it right now, or not.”
Scotti was obviously fighting to get the words out, but she said, “Thanks, Boss. I tried to warn you, but I was locked down too tight.” Nikki and her team showed up. Taz said, “You had to give her a command lock?”
“She was trying to get your fix back out of the bots. I didn’t see any other options.”
“You were right, Boss. Sorry I doubted you.”
“No worries, Taz. I didn’t like doing it any more than you like seeing it.” Lakki had plugged a portable terminal into Scotti. She said, “This is nasty, the way it’s intertwined with her personality programming, I’m not sure we can get it out.” Nikki looked, and said, “She’s right. It’s a nasty piece of work. The only way I see to get it out is the uninstall command, and we would have to have a high-ranking Squirrel to use that.”
I said, “Well, it’s a good thing we have one across the way, isn’t it?”
I pulled out my comm, and called Natti. “Yes, Commodore?”
“I need to ask a favor, I’m afraid.”
“Gee, Bob, I don’t know. I mean you helped us get our fleet back under control and all, but do you really think that entitles you to a favor in return?”
“I see I have competition in the asshole department. It’s a biggie, though.”
“You think it’s a biggie? This I have to hear.”
“Your intelligence folks put that backdoor into the bots programming to let them take control of them when they needed to. They also rigged our maintenance bots to ignore the backdoor, and resist any efforts to repair it. My Chief Engineer is standing here in a command lock, because if I let her loose, she’s going to tear out the fix my wife put in. I need someone with the authority, to give her the uninstall command, so that she can go back to how she was before. Ideally, I need somebody with the authority to give that command to all the maintenance bots in my fleet, so that I’m done with this problem.”
“I see your problem, but I don’t think I would be able to help. I’m an Ambassador, but I don’t have any command authority over Intelligence assets.”
“That’s what I figured. What would it take to get a favor from your Boss?”
“You mean the Emperor? He likes you, sure, but I don’t know if he would be willing to help with that.”
“Could you ask? I’d be willing to pay for the help, gold or walnuts, his choice.”
“I’ll call you back, when I have an answer.”
“Thanks, Ambassador.” The line went dead. Nikki asked, “Do you think they will help?”
“Natti would, but he doesn’t have the authority to override the block. It all depends on how good an impression we made on the Emperor.”
Before long, my comm rang. “Commodore Wilson.”
The Emperor’s voice said, “Commodore, I’m told you have a problem I could help with?”
“We believe so, Majesty. My Chief Engineer is afflicted with a programming block from your Intelligence services. My hackers can’t remove it without doing damage to her personality. We were hoping you could give the uninstall code, so that she could resume her duties.”
“Is she the only bot so afflicted?”
“I don’t know, Majesty. What do you suggest?”
“If you set up a broadcast, I could deliver the code to your entire fleet at once.”
“That sounds like the way to do it. Can you possibly wait momentarily, while I have that arranged?””
“Of course.” I muted my comm, and turned to Nikki. “Will you be able to tell if he has actually uninstalled the software, or just temporarily turned it off?”
“Yes.”
“Gene, get me Topper.”
“Yes, Boss?”
“I need you to patch my comm into every bot in the fleet. The Emperor has a message you all need to hear.”
“Yes, Boss.”
Nikki said, “You’re all in, Caveman. Are you sure?”
“Nope. Sooner or later, we’re going to have to trust the Emperor. Might as well get it over with.” I unmuted